


The Soul Patch

by MutedSilence



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, CPR, First Kiss, Heart Attacks, M/M, Post-Doctor Strange (2016), Soul mate, Stephen saves Tony, Tumblr Prompt, it's a little cheesy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29157621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MutedSilence/pseuds/MutedSilence
Summary: Soulmate AU: Everyone is born with a black section of skin where their soulmate touches them skin-on-skin for the first time. When this happens, the mark changes to said soulmate’s eye color. Tony Stark and Stephen Strange both hate it because they’ve had to live with the stigma of having black lips all their lives. Tony goes into cardiac arrest at a gala, and Stephen ends up giving him CPR.The prompt I based this off. Set after the events of Doctor Strange (2016)
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 15
Kudos: 175





	The Soul Patch

They say the eyes are windows to the soul. So, it only makes sense that once your soul is complete, the beauty is displayed on your skin. 

Everyone is born with a small, rough patch of black skin. Some people are born with more than one patch, others have a patch with a grey-ish hue, a sign for the overpowering romantic relations. It is common for children to compare these marks. Find their counter mark young. Well, because everyone has a counter. Someone, somewhere has a mark on their skin that matches their soulmate. 

You only know when you touch. 

The touch of your soul mate sends sparks through your body. The heat and sparkling sensation courses through your body, before centering on your soul patch. The tingling remains for hours after the initial touch. The once, rough, blackened skin - fades, changing into a myriad of colours. The colours of your soul mate's eyes. The window to your partner's soul. 

Some people are closed off. Hiding away their soul patch like it's a secret that no one can know. Others are overly affectionate in an attempt to find their match. The patches are deeply personal. Many white people cover their visible patches with make-up. Hiding away the key to their heart. The patch in stark contrast to their skin. The patch that glares at the doctor's when they're born. Many black people don't know what their patch looks like until it changes colour. The celebration of the colour is widely accepted by the black community. A thing that brings them together in a way other communities will never grasp. 

Doctor Stephen Strange was born with his soul patch in constant display. His lips had been stained black, unable to cover, unable to protect. His heart on full display, laid across his face. 

It had been hard, getting to this position in his life. A highly successful doctor and a master of the mystic arts. He was gifted. That was plain as day, something as obvious as the colour of his lips. But, rising to the well respected doctor was hard. People thought, all it would take to get Strange into bed, was a bit of black lipstick. It worked in university. After all, it could take hours for the colour to change, it wasn't always instantaneous. 

He got on. He stayed clear of people. Focusing on his residency. Sharpening his skills. Refining his vast knowledge. 

Until it was ripped away. He was left a broken man. No career. Shaking hands. His money was dissipating. The stigma of his black lips were more prominent than ever before. It scared him. He sought refuge in Kamar-Taj. 

His life was back on track, more or less. 

Christine had invited him to a gala. Something the old Stephen would have jumped at. Now, with a sanctum to protect, he was less than willing. One thing Stephen knew was that Christine was unrelenting. She had told him that she needed a date. "A smartly dressed date" as she had stressed. 

That's how the great Doctor Stephen Strange found himself slumped at a white clothed table. Playing around with the cutlery of those who sat around him. Shifting them around when no one was looking. He didn't even know what the gala was for. Probably some kind of charity thing for the hospital. That's what they used to be. Some hot shot splashing around the cash and getting their name in a hospital wing, face in the paper, talk of the town. 

There was a poster at the entrance, something he recalled seeing and ignoring as he trailed behind Christine. Picturing the outside, he created a small dimensional gateway under the table. Reading the poster, out of sight of everyone else.  _ Charity event… blah blah… Tony Stark… Not important… Huge donation for psychiatric patients.  _

He was impressed. Most people choose cancer or kids. That's where the press are. 

The night passed drearily. 

Stephen was messing with the drink of the man opposite when a commotion caught his eye. A scream. His head snapped up, his spine rigid. Eyes scanning to find the cause. Another shout. A man in pain. Clear as day. Stephen wastes no time. Running over the commotion, pushing past. Confused doctors and business tycoons standing around, trying to help and ultimately getting in the way. In the middle of all the commotion lays a man, clutching his chest. A faint glow showing underneath his palm. 

Stephen's eyes rake over him. Assessing what could have happened. The vines along his neck were striking. Doctor's crowding around him as he grabs at his chest. His hold - unrelenting. 

Pushing others out of the way, Stephen crouches down to look over the man.  _ Sweating .... pale …. rapid breathing ….  _ He presses his hands to the man's skin. One over the man's hand and the other against his neck.  _ Tachycardia…. hypotension. _

Acting fast, he rips the shirt open to reveal a mechanical device in the middle of the man's chest. The grip - sagging. The man - drifting. The onlookers made space for Stephen to work. The man was pulled under. 

"I need Dopamine, tell the ambulance to bring Norepinephrine as well. We need to get him on fluids." His gaze flickers down. The hum of people calling out and shouting down their phones droning into the background as sees the stillness in the man. 

With a large inhale, Stephen prepares the man. Performing CPR on the unresponsive body. The piece in his chest worked slowly. The light - fading. The adrenaline courses through Stephen's body. A tingle passing through him as he pushes the air into the other man. He works quickly, pressing on his chest, careful to avoid the metal chest piece. Another breath. A siren rings in the distance. Stephen's motions never falter. 

The heart beats under his closed fist. The light is beginning to grow more brilliantly than before. The man taking in the breathes he was given. Paramedics push through. In between breaths Stephen barks, "IV fluids." The paramedics work on the man's arm as Stephen keeps him breathing. 

The man's eyes flicker open to look into Stephen's. A sense of calm flooding over Stephen as he looks into the eyes below. The panic he didn't realise he was feeling, draining from his body. The man is breathing on his own, and yet, Stephen keeps working. Pressing into his chest as he looks into the man's eyes. 

The unoccupied arm raises to take hold of Stephen's hand. Stilling his movements. 

Distantly, Stephen hears the paramedics say something about a stretcher. The man holds onto Stephen's hands. The paramedics take hold of him, preparing him to be transported. Stephen doesn't look away from the explosive brown's hidden in the man's eyes. The man doesn't look away either. Their hands remain connected as the man is transported to hospital. An emergency surgery set up. Stephen lets the man go. Waiting behind the door. A pull he had never experienced refusing to let him leave. 

***

He sleeps fleetingly in the waiting room. The surgery had been fine. Nothing long lasting. The doctor had come to inform him afterwards. The glowing chest piece was to keep the man alive. It had malfunctioned. A slight circuit break. The chest compressions managed to knock it back into place. The Dopamine in his body kept his heart beating until the device was working again.

Stephen had been told that the patient was fine. He would be released into his care shortly -- on the patient's insistence. 

He didn't even think to question it. 

Blindly accepting to take care of a stranger. 

He looked better. Standing. His left arm was placed in a sling,  _ Minimise the blood flow. _ A smile played at the man's lips. Growing larger the closer he got. A fresh wave of panic soared through Stephen. The man's lips had become pale. Blues and greens spreading across his lips. 

The man stands before him. His right hand raised to rest on Stephen's cheek. "Hi, I'm Tony." Standing on his tiptoes and pulling Stephen down, their lips lock in a soft kiss. The panic and worry that had been flooding Stephen's veins, faded. Replaced by a slight tingle and an overpowering exhaustion. 

They break apart and Tony looks up at him. "Thank you for saving my life. Now, we can spend the rest of it together." 

Understanding crashes over Stephen. His mind traveled back. Tony's lips had been black. Black. His match. 

"Hello, Tony. I'm Stephen." 

**Author's Note:**

> https://ironstrangeprompts.tumblr.com/post/641980559407579137/prompt-957-soulmate-au-everyone-is-born-with-a


End file.
